Friday, November 16, 2012

unions step up

As the end of the year approaches and we draw ever closer to that dread metaphor, the "fiscal cliff," what's left of the union movement in this country is mobilizing to fight the one-party system's planned heist of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

The American Federation Of State, County and Municipal Employees, the National Education Association and the Service Employees International Union are teaming up on the project. It will include a "six-figure buy" with an "opening salvo of ads" focused on protecting health care, education and Social Security in any deficit or debt reduction deal, according to a labor source. The unions have argued that any final deal should instead lean more on higher tax rates for the wealthiest Americans.

Copies of the ads were not immediately available. But a source familiar with the campaign says they will air in Virginia, Missouri and Colorado, among other states. The Democratic senators in those states -- Mark Warner of Virginia, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, and Mark Udall and Michael Bennet of Colorado -- have all already voted to extend the Bush-era tax cuts only for income below $250,000. But they also considered to be among the likelier suspects to cut a deal with Republican lawmakers on a measure that would include more dramatic entitlement reforms.

"Dramatic entitlement reforms" is the current euphemism for stealing the people's money, of course, and I'm thankful that AFSCME, NEA, and SEIU are on this. I just hope the message they send is forceful enough so that there's no chance Obama and the Democrats misunderstand. So it should be something like "Keep your hands off our goddam money, and if you're worried about the deficit, how about ending a couple wars and doing away with a couple anti-Soviet weapons systems, as an alternative to robbing US."

About Me

Born in the geographic and spiritual center of the U.S., the year before the bomb. Then blooey, everything changes, and we move around a lot, Spent my formative years seeking the origins of the sperm of the grandfathers of antiquity. And now, ain't been home since I don't remember when; lookout, you rounders, we're on the road again.